Android Auto Disabled in Some Subaru Cars After Android 11 Update – autoevolution

We’ve known for a while that the experience with Android Auto on
Subaru cars has been a crazy roller coaster ride, and while everything works just properly for some, the app is completely broken for others.

Not a long time ago, we covered the
Android Auto struggle on various Subaru models, with some owners claiming that a dealer update was the one that introduced a bug breaking down the app.

Others just hit a critical error when connecting their phone to the cars, while some of the luckiest out there were provided with a new software update that more or less improved the experience and got Android Auto up and running again.

This time, the culprit appears to be the Android 11 update that Google announced only a few days ago. Android 11 is supposed to bring lots of improvements to smartphones out there, and for Android Auto users, it unlocks the wireless mode to all devices that are updated to this OS version.

But as far as some unlucky Subaru owners are concerned, Android 11 brings quite a headache, as Android Auto is completely disabled in their cars.

The good news is that the problem doesn’t appear to be too widespread at this point, but one thing that’s worth emphasizing is that the Android 11 rollout is still in its early days and only a few devices are getting the update right now. So it could take a while until more Subaru owners install Android 11 and can tell for sure if Android Auto is disabled in their cars too.

One user explains on Google’s forums that they’re not getting any error, only that Android Auto just seems to be disabled.

After upgrading to Android 11, Android Auto quit working in my 2020 Subaru Ascent. No error. It is just that the Android Auto icon is disabled. Worked before upgrade,” they say.

No fix is available right now since these reports are just isolated, but we’ll continue to keep an eye on this issue and let you know if any updates surface anytime soon.